Runaways
by BookLuvr8
Summary: This is a story about what I think might have happened if Gale and Katniss had decided to run away instead of staying in District 12.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"We could run away, you know. Together."

All around me, night animals are coming alive. Owls hoot, mice skitter across the ground, and something howls in the distance. We are going to have to get home soon.

I'm in the woods with Gale, after a long day of hunting. Gale is my best friend, and hunting partner. We had been talking about the Capitol, and living in District 12, and the Hunger Games, and how unfair everything about our lives is. Then Gale brought up the one subject I had wanted to avoid. Running away.

"We have our families. We can't just leave them here to starve," I say quietly. Our hunting is the only thing that gets our siblings and mothers enough food.

Gale doesn't say anything for a long time, and I can tell he is thinking about something. His gray eyes, identical to mine, stare blankly into the trees. I know him well enough that I can tell when he is deep in thought. I brush my long, brown hair out of my face, waiting for him to speak.

Finally he says, "We could bring them with. I know it would be hard to take all the kids and our mothers into the forest and hide, but we would get them enough food, and once we found a place to live, we would be safe."

I sigh. The way Gale describes it, life in the wild doesn't sound half bad. I mean, there would be the Capitol we would have to look out for, and wild animals, but Gale and I stray outside of District 12 all the time, we know how to survive out here.

But our families don't. I don't know how I would convince my little sister, Prim, or my mother to leave their home, and risk their lives to live out in the wild. And suddenly having almost a dozen people disappearing out of no where would make the Peacekeepers suspicious. And word would get to the Capitol. It was too risky.

"I can't," I tell Gale. "I can't risk Prim and my mother's lives."

Giving up on trying to persuade me, Gale stands up on the rocky ledge that overlooks a valley. We come to this place all the time.

"We should go," he tells me. "We don't want any wild dogs sneaking up on us in the dark."

He glances at me, and then says jokingly, "Of course you would just climb a tree and leave me on the ground to be eaten alive."

I laugh. "No, you would just set a huge trap on the ground and they'd all be caught in it."

Lightening up our mood, we joke the rest of the way home.

Reaching the chain-link fence that surrounds all of District 12, we pause and listen, making sure the electricity is out. Our District is lucky if we have two hours of electricity a day, if that.

The electricity isn't running through the fence, and we make our way through the small hole at the bottom of it safely.

We make our way through the Meadow, which separates the fence from the rest of District 12, and once we reach the street, we say our goodbyes. I watch Gale walk the opposite direction from me, shouldering his game, his dark hair blowing in the evening breeze.

Normally we would have gone to the Hob to trade some of our game, but we didn't catch very much today and I had decided to collect some herbs for my mother. She uses them for the sick who come to her.

Arriving at our little house, I hang the two dead squirrels I shot today on a pole I keep my unskinned game on outside, hoping that Prim's ugly cat, Buttercup, won't get to them.

Walking in the door, I hand a small burlap bag of herbs to my mother, who is preparing our meager dinner.

Giving me a hug, my twelve year old sister, Prim, says, "You got back late. I was starting to worry."

"You shouldn't worry about me. You know I come back every time," I tell her.

She smiles, the worry gone from her bright blue eyes. "I know."

This is the reason I could never abandon my family. I don't know what Prim would do with out me, my mother can't take care of her all by herself. She doesn't have the money or the ability. If it weren't for me, my mother and Prim both would have starved to death after my father was killed in a mine explosion.

"And I always will come back," I promise her.

I make my way through the busy streets the next morning, planning on trading one of my squirrels for a loaf of bread.

There are many people out today, crowding the streets. I'm trying to make my way through the crowd toward the bakery when I slam into someone and we both go tumbling to the ground.

Grabbing my things, I look over at the person a ran into. It's one of the baker's sons, Peeta. He had been carrying a couple boxes, and I picked one up and handed it to him.

"I'm really sorry," I tell him. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

He smiles at me. "It's all right. Luckily the cakes aren't ruined."

Glancing back at the boxes I notice they're the fancy cakes they always have on display in the baker's window. They're too expensive for me to ever get.

"They're really pretty," I tell him.

"Thanks. I decorate them," he says, surprising me. I never would have guessed that a stocky boy like him would have a talent like that.

"Well I have to go deliver these, so I guess I'll see you around," he tells me. Giving me a wave, he walks away. I don't know Peeta very well, but a long time ago he had practically saved me from starving when he gave me some bread. I'm not sure if he still remembers it, but I sure do.

I trade the squirrel with Peeta's father for a loaf of bread, and then head home.

I'm skinning the other squirrel and throwing the innards to Buttercup, when Gale comes running up to our house.

"Katniss!" he yells to me. "You should come see this!"

Forgetting the squirrel, I wipe my hands quickly, and run after Gale to the center of town.

I know something is going on when I see all the people gathered around.

Two men are standing in the center of the crowd, one holding the arms of the other. The one is a Peacekeeper, new from what I can tell, and that means stricter. The other man is the baker.

"This man," the Peacekeeper announces, "has been illegally hunting." He holds up the squirrel I had traded with the baker earlier today. I glance at Gale, alarmed.

"He must be punished," the Peacekeeper continues. The baker isn't protesting as the Peacekeeper lifts a whip up, and brings it down with a _crack_ on his back.

Suddenly Peeta is next to me, staring with shock at his father, who's back is starting to bleed from the blows. Peeta tries lunging toward him, but Gale grabs his arm and pulls him back. Shaking his head, he tells Peeta, "It will only make it worse."

Peeta struggles a little more, but then gives up. He stands there hopelessly, watching while his father gets beaten for something that I should be punished for, not him.

I can't watch any longer. I spin around and run the whole way home. All I can think is that could be my mother or Prim. We've been surviving on that food ever since I was twelve. If they were caught with my game, they'd be beaten too. I don't even want to picture little Prim being whipped like that. I'm not even sure she'd survive it. And I'm not sure if my mother could survive that either.

I sit down on my small bed I share with Prim the rest of the day, thinking. Finally Gale comes in, looking for me.

"There you are. I thought you might have gone hunting," he says, a little relieved.

"No, I've been here," I say, not even looking up at him.

"Look, it's not you fault the baker was caught," he tells me, sitting down next to me. "They could have found anyone."  
"What? Like my mother? Or Prim?" I say, anger filling my voice. "Or what about one of your brothers or your mother? Or even your little sister? They might even punish her!" I know it's unfair to be yelling at Gale like this, but I feel like I have to say something.

"But we've never been caught before," he says.

"But we could be," I tell him. "I hate living with that risk."  
He doesn't say anything, and I know he's lost for words.

I don't say anything for a while too. Finally I tell him what I've been considering all day.

"We should leave District 12."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Gale and I spend the next couple days in public acting as if nothing is out of the ordinary. We go to school, and do our usual chores at home, not mentioning anything strange to anyone we talk to.

But when we go hunting, we plan. We start hunting more than usual, saving food for ourselves and our families. We collect berries and roots, and store them in our houses. The game we catch, we clean, then let the meat dry out so it will last longer. We also gather the things we will need to survive.

At home, the night we are going to start our plan, I find an old, scruffy pack that used to belong to my father. The fabric is worn thin, and there's coal dust all over it, but it will work for now, and I can always fix it up later. I take most of my belongings, the essential things that I will need, and stuff all of them into the pack. I go over everything twice, making sure I have all the things I will need. Then I hide it under my bed.

Prim is milking her goat, and my mother is sorting some of her herbs. It's a normal night for them. I've made it through the past few days without them suspecting anything.

I sit down at the tiny table we eat our meals at. I've done everything I need to prepare, so now all I have to do is wait. I'm not someone who likes sitting around, and my mother notices.

"Aren't you usually out with Gale right now," she asks me, still going through her medical supplies. I know she means hunting, but it's too dangerous talking about that when we're inside District 12.

I shrug. "We don't really have much to do." Gale and I have gathered as much food as we can store in our homes. I still think we could have gotten more, in case we are gone longer than we think we're going to be, but I couldn't find any more places to store food.

"I still don't understand why you have suddenly been stashing up on all of this," my mother says, gesturing to all the shelves, which are packed with meat, berries, and any other things I could think of that she and Prim would need while I'm gone.

"Just in case anything happens," I say, not wanting to say too much.

My mother looks at me curiously. "What could possibly happen?"

I just shrug again, and don't answer. I suddenly want to tell my mother everything, that Gale and I are running away, that we can't tell anyone because the less anyone knows about us disappearing, the less involved the Capitol will be with them when they come searching for us. That we're going to come back for our families, we just have to find a safe place to live. That we don't know how long that's going to take, and that's why we had to make sure our families would survive while we're gone.

But if I tell my mother any of this, it will mess up everything Gale and I have planned, and we would never have a chance of fulfilling this plan, no matter how hard it might be even now.

I keep thinking of all the things that could go wrong, everything we're risking. There's a little voice in my head that keeps telling me, _Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it._

But it's too late now. Everything is ready, and I can't back out now, I can't just leave Gale hanging.

Not able to sit still anymore, I stand up and leave my mother to finish with her herbs. Walking outside, I find Prim brushing her goat, Lady, with an old hairbrush. Buttercup is by her side, grooming himself. When I walk up, the cat gives me a glare, but I ignore it.

"You know, you could live off that goat if you needed to," I tell Prim, standing next to her.

"Yes, I know," she says, smiling at me. "I could sell some of the milk and cheese, and eat what I don't sell if I ever had to live on my own."

"Yeah, that's a good way to stay alive," I say to her. Secretly, I'm trying to tell her to do just that, if ever I don't come back and she has to find a way to make a living. I know she won't understand what I'm trying to tell her now, but she'll figure it out once she finds out I'm gone.

"It's getting dark," I say, looking up at the sky, where the sun is just setting. "We should probably go to bed."

Prim follows me inside, and she lies down on our bed. Our mother leans down and kisses her goodnight, and I lay down next to her, drawing our thin blanket over both of us.

"I love you, Prim," I whisper to her.

"'Love you too," she mumbles, already falling to sleep.

I wait until I'm sure my mother is asleep too, then I quietly slip out of bed, slide on my boots, grab the pack from under the bed, and walk quickly to the door.

Before leaving home for good, I turn in the doorway and take one last look at Prim, fast asleep, oblivious that I'm gone from our bed. Her face is so peaceful asleep, and it breaks my heart to be leaving her. I know it's not for good, but somehow it feels like I might never see her again.

I glance at my mother, who's also asleep, hoping that she will be able to take care of my sister all by herself.

I blow a kiss to Prim, and with that, I head for the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Gale is waiting for me. I had grabbed my best bow and my quiver from a hiding place once I had gotten past the fence. Gale and I start out quietly, not speaking, nervous about what we're doing.

We walk in the dark for a few hours, getting farther and farther away from District 12. I try to keep track of the different landmarks, knowing we will have to find our way back when we come back for our families.

Every time I think of Prim, a pain jerks through my stomach. I still can't believe I'm leaving her behind. I tell myself it's for her own good, that I'll go back for her, but I still feel horrible about abandoning her.

We keep hiking even after the sun rises, knowing that the farther away we get from District 12, the better.

I wonder where Prim thinks I am right now. She probably assumes I'm out hunting. Once she sees I'm not at school she'll start worrying.

Finally, when the sun is at its highest in the sky, Gale says, "Let's stop and rest. There's a little clearing over there." He points ahead of us where I see sunlight filtering through the branches.

We reach the clearing, and sit down, taking our packs off our backs. I take out some dried meat for us to chew on. I'm already getting really hungry, but I know we have to ration our food. Even though we can both hunt, we can't waste our food.

"How long do you think it will take for the Capitol to start searching for us?" Gale asks, looking warily up at the sky, like at any moment a hovercraft will appear out of no where. Which I guess probably could happen.

"I don't know," I say. "Maybe in a few days? It's not like runaways from District 12 are their top priority."

"How do you know?" Gale asks. "Remember those two people we saw a couple years ago?"

I remember right away who he's talking about. A few years ago we were out hunting and we saw a boy and a girl with red hair running through the woods. I could tell they were trying to escape from something. Then a hovercraft had appeared and caught them.

"We could end up like them," I murmur.

"That's what I'm scared about," Gale tells me.

"We'll be more careful than them. We'll stay out of sight, and keep our ears and eyes open," I reassure him.

Sighing, he stands up and says, "Well if we're going to stay out of sight, we're going to have to get going."

I had been right about the Capitol. Four days after we had left District 12, we spotted a hovercraft.

We had been hiking down a steep slope, still in a forest, nearing the end of the mountain range District 12 was near. Suddenly all of the birds had stopped chirping and a mockingjay gave a warning call. Then a little ways down the slope, a Capitol hovercraft had appeared.

Gale and I had hid in some bushes when the mockingjay had called out, and we watched as the hovercraft had stayed in the place it had appeared in, probably scanning the area for any sign of movement. About five minutes later it had disappeared.

It was dark now, and we had set up camp and had risked a fire. We hoped that no one was searching for us at night, because the fire would make it obvious where we were. But it was cold at night, and we needed a way to cook our food.

I was eating a rabbit leg, when Gale spoke up.

"Do you ever wonder if there are any other communities out there? That aren't ruled by the Capitol?"

"Like…other countries, or something?" I ask, looking up at him.

"Yeah, something like that. I mean, survivors from District 13 must have gone somewhere," he says.

"Everyone in District 13 died," I remind him. The Capitol had burned that into our brains a long time ago.

"There must have been _some_ survivors. Not everyone must have been killed," he said.

"If there _are_ any survivors, they're far away from here," I say. I honestly don't think anyone did survive. When the Capitol does something, they do it thoroughly.

"Well they had to have somewhere to go," Gale says, always the hopeful one. "Unless if they made a home out in the wild…kind of like what we're doing."

"They might all be gone by now," I say. "Unless if people continued to have kids and stuff."

Neither of us spoke for a while. Then I asked, "What's going to happen to us? I mean, we're not going to live forever. Someone from one of our families will be out here all alone some day."

"Unless if there really is some other place out there where people live. Where the Capitol can't reach them."

"Or Prim and one of your brothers could have kids," I say, laughing.

Gale doesn't reply right away, and then he says quietly, "Or we could."

I stare at him, surprised. There has never been anything romantic between us. Where had he gotten that idea from?

"I know you always say you never want kids, because of the Hunger Games and all that, but if we're going to be living out here…well, there _isn't _any Hunger Games."

I'm still staring at him, trying to figure out if he's actually serious.

"Me and you? Like…married?" I ask, unsure. "But we're just friends. Right?"

Gale takes a moment to answer.

"Look, Catnip," he starts, using his nickname for me. "I've never been able to tell you this before, but-"

Suddenly a mockingjay lets out a call, and as I look up, a hovercraft appears, right over our heads.

The Capitol has found us.


End file.
